Success didn’t sneak up on Kaepernick

Observations from 49erland, guaranteed fresh, no preservatives or additives, unless you count coffee:

— Success didn’t sneak up on Colin Kaepernick.

After Sunday’s win in New Orleans, safety Donte Whitner mentioned that players are required to arrive at team headquarters by 9:30 a.m. on practice days. Whitner said he often gets there at 6:30, and winds up working with Kaepernick, another early bird.

According to one report, the team flight from New Orleans arrived in the Bay Area around 1 a.m. Monday, and Kaepernick was seen on the field at 8, running wind sprints wearing a weighted vest.

On Wednesday, I asked tight end Delanie Walker what time he gets to work. “I get here at 6,” Walker said. When does Kaepernick arrive? “He’s always here before me. He’s here lifting weights.”

So the question is not how early Kaepernick gets to work, but if he ever leaves.

— Walker also noted, in an affable way, “You guys in the media are making a big deal of this (quarterback) situation. … It’s kind of taking away from what the 49ers are doing.” Yes, there are other stories I would tackle if I wasn’t transfixed by and fixated on the quarterback thing.

Like: I’d be noting that Aldon Smith is making a legitimate bid for league MVP. Not defensive MVP, but plain old MVP.

— Where did Kaepernick get his earliest lessons in the 49ers’ complex offense? That’s right, at Camp Alex, during the lockout before last season, from camp chief Alex Smith himself. Wonder if Alex is now wishing he’d accidentally punched a hole in camper Colin’s canoe.

— He’s photogenic, he’s a fine quarterback playing surprisingly well, so naturally he will get more TV camera time than anyone else during Sunday’s 49ers-Rams game. That’s right, Alex Smith will be the TV star, with more on-camera time than Kaepernick. How is Smith handling this? Is he mad, sad, stiff-upper-lippy? Is he putting a whoopie cushion on Kaepernick’s bench seat?

My guess is the TV folks will enlist one of those Fox News pseudo scientists who can read a person’s innermost thoughts and emotions by observing body language and eyelid twitches. However, those pseudo scientists can analyze only Democrats, and I have no idea what Smith is.

— Stats are only a small part of the equation when you compare the two QBs, but here are some numbers: Smith has taken 24 sacks against 217 pass attempts, Kaepernick six against 74. Kaepernick in his two starts has 48 pass attempts and one sack. Yards per pass attempt: Smith 8.0, Kaepernick 9.2.

— This is merely a theory, not backed by any dramatic stats: When Kaepernick is operating effectively, the 49ers’ rushing attack is much more dangerous. The defense is a bit more spread out because of Kaepernick’s passing range, and the threat of him scampering, by design or necessity, puts added pressure on the defense.

— No other contending NFL team has a bullpen to match the 49ers’, whichever quarterback starts. “We’ve got two quarterbacks that we feel great about,” Harbaugh said Wednesday. I wondered if the 49ers might take advantage of that advantage by, say, bringing in the other guy if the starter is struggling. I asked Harbaugh.

Harbaugh: “No, if we’re going to start talking about speculation, or every permeantation (sic) that you could get into, no, we’re not going to speculate on it. We’ll worry about everything and we’ll fear nothing.” I’m just the opposite.

— Yes, Harbaugh is getting peeved at persistent questioning about quarterbacks. Yes, the media continues to press him for more info, explanation and insight. That’s how the game works. Is he mad at us? Who cares? Are we mad at him? Not that I know of.

Harbaugh circles his wagons, and we keep firing our flaming arrows. From my perspective, it’s all part of the fun.

— E-mailer Chris Apostle, a Jets’ fan visiting the Bay Area, writes, “We’d love to have to choose like the 49ers do. Must be horrible.”

— Will Harbaugh lose the locker room? Will the quarterback situation divide the players into separate camps? That happens only when at least one of these situations exists: The team is losing. One of the quarterbacks is disliked or disrespected by his teammates. The players hate or disrespect the coach. Strike three, the doomsayers are out.

— On Wednesday, Harbaugh kept saying, wearily, “Again, we’ve plowed that ground about as thoroughly as it can be plowed.” I made a mental note to stop on the way home and pick up some okra.